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Suggestions 

/or County Teackers' 

Associations 



Prepared for tke 



btate Department of Education 



BY 



^V. Iv. Tate, State Supervisor of 
Elementary Rural Sckools. 



This bulletin was suggested by a number of programs for 
county teachers' associations printed by the Missouri State De- 
partment of Education. It is offered to the tgachers of South 
Carolina in the hope that it may supply a long felt need. 



Issued hy J. E. Swearin^en, 
State Superintendent of Education, Columtia, 1913 






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A _ SUGGESTIONS FOR COUNTY TEACHERS' 
^: ASSOCIATIONS. 

^ The vitality and influence of any profession depends on the 

capacity for co-operation and cohesion among its members. The 
ties which bind together the members of the teaching profession 
are not direct, material, and selfish, but indirect, spiritual, and 
altruistic. Our professional spirit can be kept vital only when 
we confer with our fellow teachers, and together work out the 
solution of our common problems. During the school year the 
medium of professional communication is the County Teachers' 
Association. 

The County Association, whether official or voluntary, is im- 
portant for the country teacher because the isolation of his work 
prevents any other opportunity for exchange of ideas and plans 
with fellow teachers. It is important to city teachers because it 
neutralizes a natural tendency of the grade teacher to contract 
her vision to the limits of her own class room, and to forget the 
larger questions of education. It is especially important to the 
County Superintendent and to the County Supervising Teacher 
for Country Schools because it affords to these officials an easy 
opportunity to make and promulgate county plans for co-oper- 
ative work. It is important to the trustee because it gives his 
teacher, and, through the teacher, his school, a contact with the 
best thought and the most suggestive experience of all the other 
teachers, and participation in all the progressive educational 
movements of the county. 

ORGANIZATION. 

In counties which have no County Teachers' Association, the 
call for organization should be issued by the County Superintend- 
ent of Education. The organization should be simple. A presi- 
dent, a vice-president, and a secretary-treasurer are all the officers 
necessary. These should constitute an Executive Committee. A 
program committee should be appointed to collaborate with the 
officers in making a complete program for the year's meetings. 
From time to time additional committees should be appointed to 
carry out the plans of the Association. 



SECURING AN ATTENDANCE. 

How to secure a full attendance of teachers is one of the im- 
portant questions which arise in connection with the County Asso- 
ciation. 

In a few counties of South Carolina the County Superintend- 
ents, in co-operation with the district trustees, have made attend- 
ance compulsory and deduct from the monthly salary for non- 
attendance. This plan makes the Association the official monthly 
meeting of the county teachers. 

Most teachers will wish to visit the county seat at least once 
per month. This is usually most convenient at the close of the 
school month. At this time they may bring their salary war- 
rants to the County Superintendent for approval, attend the asso- 
ciation meeting, and do their shopping on the same day. Several 
county sujyerintendents have loisely fixed unifoi^m dates for school 
opening so that the school months for all schools unll close on the 
same day. This end could be brought about by opening all the 
eight- or nine-months schools, e. g., on the last Monday in Sep- 
tember, seven-months' schools on the last Monday in October, and 
the six-months' schools on the last Monday in November. Even 
where it is not possible to open all the schools on definite, uniform 
dates, the trustees may be instructed by the County Superintend- 
ent to issue warrants at certain fixed times which may coincide 
with the meeting of the Teachers' Association. The fact that the 
first and last warrants of the school year would, in some cases, be 
issued for the fractional part of a month would entail no compli- 
cations. 

Many teachers fail to attend the Association because they have 
no way of getting to the place of meeting. They live far from 
the railroad, and are dependent on others for conveyance. The 
district trustees should see that their teachers are provided with 
conveyance to the monthly Association meeting. The notice of 
the meeting should always include a notice to the trustee and a 
request that he make it possible for his teachers to attend. 

Several counties are now making it easy for teachers to attend 
the Association Meeting by furnishing a simple lunch at the close 
of the morning session. This is a wise expenditure of a few dol- 
lars per month. Laurens County has transformed the Grand 
^wvy Room into a Teachers' Rest Room, where the teachers may 
make coffee and tea and eat their lunches. In this room is placed 
the County Teachers' Library. Anything which shows the 



teachers that the County Superintendent is thinking of their 
comfort, convenience, and welfare will stimulate attendance. If 
the teachers have to hunt for the key to the court room, open up, 
make a fire, and sweep a space large enough to hold their meet- 
ing, the County Superintendent can look for nothing but failure. 

Above all things else the price of regular attendance is a defi- 
nite, helpful program at each meeting. Teachers will expect 
something for each sacrifice of time, money, and energy involved 
in the trip to the county seat. A heavy responsibility rests on the 
program committee. 

Finally, each teacher should receive a special reminder of the 
Association Meeting. This should be in addition to the annual 
program published at the beginning of the year, and the notices 
in the newspapers. If the meeting is worth while, it is worth a 
special notice each month from the County Superintendent's 
office. 

PHASES OF ASSOCIATION WORK. 

. I. Official. 

At the meetings of the Association the County Superintend- 
ent and Rural Supervising Teacher will communicate to the teach- 
ers their official instructions and plans for the year, such as : 

1. Methods of getting a correct school census of the districts. 

2. Statement of law with reference to enrollment. 

3. Methods proposed for the year to secure regular attendance. 

4. Keeping the school register. 

5. Monthly reports to parents. 

6. Monthly reports to County Superintendent. 

7. Annual reports. 

8. The special aims of the year. 

II. Co-operative. 

The Association should be the clearing house for the co-oper- 
ative educational efforts of the county. For example : 

1. It should select the State and County songs which all the 
children of the county will sing on Field Day. The teachers 
should practice these songs together until they are able to teach 
them to the children. It may be necessary for the Association to 
write a county song. 



2. It should plan the general character of the School Fair and 
Field Day, and assist in determining the classes of entries, and the 
nature of the contests. 

3. The Association may acquire a select library of professional 
books for common use. These may be distributed, and returned 
at the monthly meetings. 

4. The teachers of the county who are taking the State Read- 
ing Course may form a section of the Association, and may meet 
for discussion just before or after the general meeting. 

III. Social. 

The friendships formed in the social intercourse of the Associ- 
ations are alone a rich recompense for the time spent in attend- 
ance. Each teacher should know personally every other teacher 
in the county. The practice of taking lunch together contributes 
greatly to the social pleasure of the meeting. 

IV. Professional. 

The most serious work of the Association is the study and dis- 
cussion of actual classroom problems in teaching and school man- 
agement. This discussion should usually take the form of a round- 
table conference in which all participate. 

V. Inspirational. 

Occasionally the Association should devote part of its monthly 
meeting to an address by an invited speaker, who will open a 
wider vision of the teacher's work, and its relation to the larger 
interests of humanity. 

SUGGESTED PROGRAMS. 

I. Beginning the school year. 

1. "What do you do the first day of school? 

2. How to get the children in school. 

3. My daily program and my reasons for making it as it is. 

4. Saving time in the daily program. 

5. Tactful ways of curing mistakes in classification. 

6. What should we do with the large backward boy or girl in 
our classification? 

Opening discussion limited to ten rninutes, general discussions 
to five minutes. 



II. How may we improve the quality of the reading in our 
schools? 

1. A demonstration reading lesson with a primer class. 

2. Explanation of method by teacher, followed by questions 
and general discussion. 

3. What are the chief faults in the reading of the country 
schools ? How may these be remedied ? 

4. Wliat shall we do with the pupil of second grade ability 
who is trying to read in the fourth reader (at least 25,000 of 
these in South Carolina) ? 

5. Why should the teacher read to her pupils ? 

6. Using the library in the reading class. 

III. School iTnprovement Day. 

1. A model schoolroom. 

2. A possible remodeling of an old building. 

3. A practical water cooler (demonstration). 

4. The use of a sanitary floor dressing. (Demonstration can, 
perhaps, be arranged by consultation with the local agent of the 
Standard Oil Company.) 

5. The best pictures for a schoolroom. (Exhibit of samples 
and statement of prices.) 

6. What are the best ways of raising money for school im- 
provement ? 

7. Plans and achievements. 

IV. Health Day. 

1. The lighting, heating, and ventilation of the schoolroom. 

a. How to remedy poor lighting. 

b. The right use of shades. (Some teachers seem to re- 
gard them as pure ornaments.) 

c. A demonstration of correct window ventilation. 

d. How to make a jacketed stove. 

2. Testing for defects in vision. (Demonstration.) 

3. Teaching the proper care of the teeth. The tooth brush 
drill. 



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4. The detection, prevention, and care of hookworm disease. 

5. Medical and dental inspection of school children. Investi- 
gate and report on the offer of the State Medical and Dental 
Societies. 

V. Geography Day. 

1. Suggested lessons in Home Geography. 

2. How to teach the geography of South Carolina. 

3. Methods of using wall maps. 

4. Suggestions for using the globe. 

a. Demonstration lesson on cause of change of seasons 
and of day and night, with group of teachers for class. 

5. Making a school museum for geography teaching. 

6. Map drawing and modeling exhibit and demonstration. 

VI. Arithmetic Day. 

1. A demonstration lesson in primary number work with con- 
crete material. 

2. Methods of developing in the children a true conception of 
the meaning of the tables. 

3. Drills for fixing the tables in the memory. 

4. The "Speed and Accuracy" match. 

5. Arithmetic analysis. 

6. How to use the "Farm Arithmetic." 

VII. Special School Activities. 

1. The teacher's part in the Corn Club. 

2. The school Canning Club. 

3. Canning demonstration for the benefit of the teachers. 

4. The equipment and use of the school work-room for ele- 
mentary manual training. 

5. How to arrange and conduct a Homemaker's Club. 

6. The use of the School Demonstration Plot. 

VIII. Fair and Field Day Programs. 

1. The educational aims of the Fair and Field Day. 



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2. A statement in detail of the proposed events, contests, and 
exhibits of the Fair and Field Day by the committees. The object 
of this presentation is to enable the teachers to make special 
preparations for the day. 

3. How to use the preliminary contest as an incentive to good 
school work. 

4. Dangers to be avoided. 

5. Moral training through the Field Day contests — fairness 
in sport, modest winners, cheerful losers. 

IX. Ethical Phases of School Work. 

1. What can the school do in the ethical and religious educa- 
tion of the child? 

2. Co-operation between the School and the Sunday School. 

3. The treatment of moral faults in school children — An ex- 
perience meeting. 

4. Handling the cigarette evil. 

6. How may the school help train its pupils for good citizen- 
ship ? 

X. Some School Laws That Teachers Should Know and Use. 

1. The Library Law. 

a. Establishing the library. 

b. Annual additions. 

c. A good list of books for country schools. 

2. How to vote a special district tax. 

3. The Term Extension Act. 

4. The Rural Graded School Act. 

5. Law with reference to school reports. 

6. The School Building Acts. 

XL School Management. 

1. What additions would you make to the "Ten Command- 
ments on School Management," found in the Elementary Manual ? 

2. Which of these suggestions would you modify? 



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3. Management versus punishment. 

4. What elements of character must the teacher develop in 
order to manage children successfully ? 

5. Should corporal punishment be abolished ? A debate. 

6. Proper and improper punishments. 

7. Securing the co-operation of the home in the discipline of 
the school. 

XII. Some Pertinent Professional Questions. 

1. Why do teachers change positions so frequently ? What is 
your best year in a position ? Why ? 

2. How shall the teacher find a satisfactory position? My 
experience with the Teachers' Agency — by a teacher and a trus- 
tee. 

3. The advantages of a State Board of Examiners and a State 
certificate. 

4. Should a teacher's certificate, once secured, be permanent 
during continuance in school work ? 

6. What grades or classes of certificates should be issued? 

6. Why should the teacher and the board use the contract 
printed in the register ? 

7. How may a County Superintendent find good teachers ? 

8. Reasons for the adoption of a salary schedule for country 
schools. 

XIII. Play Day. 

1. Why do children play? 

2. Play as an aid to discipline. 

3. Demonstration of plays suitable for the playground. 

4. Rainy day games for the school room. 

5. What are the best books on Plays and Games? 

6. Some simple playground apparatus. 

XIV. Correlation of Studies. 

1. The methods of the Farm Life School at Rock Hill. 



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2. How we may use the Com and Canning Club work in 
arithmetic, composition, and drawing. 

3. How to make nature study help with geography, drawing, 
arithmetic, and language. 

4. How may we relate geography and history so that they will 
reinforce each other? 

5. Making the work of the home and that of the school help 
each other. 

XV. English Day. 

1. How can each part of the subject be made a means of meet- 
ing some > felt need of the child? 

a. Oral speech. 

b. Writing. 

c. Composition. 

d. Grammar. 

e. Literature. 

2. What can we do toward getting our pupils to talk better? 

a. How to weed out errors in pronunciation, grammar, 
etc. 

b. How to encourage positive excellence of speech. 

3. A demonstration lesson in the use of phonics to improve pro- 
nunciation. 

4. What parts of ordinary grammar can profitably be omitted 
from elementary teaching? 

XVI. High School Conference. 

Program suggested by Inspector W. H. Hand. 

1. What is the function of the high school? 

2. Reasonable work to be undertaken by one high school 
teacher ; by two teachers ; by three teachers. 

3. How to improve the quality of the work in the high school. 

4. The value of vocational training in the high school. 

5. What vocational subjects might be undertaken in our South 
Carolina high schools. 



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6. The proportion of time to be given to vocational or indus- 
trial subjects. 

7. Equipment necessary to teach the vocational subjects. 

These programs are intended to be merely suggestive. Each 
Association will formulate a set of programs which suits its indi- 
vidual needs. Every program should include a brief rehearsal of 
school songs, and, perhaps, another musical selection. An occa- 
sional good address or lecture will give the spice of variety and 
widen the circle of friends and helpers. 

THE STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. 

This Association is the State organization for the advancement 
of the teaching profession. Every progressive teacher in South 
Carolina should be a member. Several counties have adopted the 
plan of making the County Association membership fee include 
also the State Association fee of $1 for men and 50 cents for 
women. The fee should be sent to Prof. L. T. Baker, Columbia, 
S. C, Secretary of the State Association. This saves trouble and 
insures a strong county representation in the State Association. 




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\ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 485 905 1 



